Oahu sedgeCyperaceaeEndemic to the Hawaiian IslandsOahu (Cultivated)Nn or Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis) exhibit at Honolulu Zoo. Geese can be seen in background. White bird on extreme top right is a white pigeon bathing.NPH00001nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Carex_wahuensis_wahuensis
close up image of Carex tetanica COMMON STIFF SEDGE at the James Woodworth Prairie Preserve - several specimen at bloom showing both the lower female spike with white stigmas and the upper male spike with beige anthers
Kohekohe or Blunt spikerushCyperaceae (Sedge family)Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands (Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Hawaii)Oahu (Cultivated)Kohekohe (Eleocharis obtusa) is one of the few native rushes in the Hawaiian Islands. A robust variety (E. obtusa var. gigantea) with larger floral features is rare.Closeupwww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/5188017186/in/photostream/Medicinally, early Hawaiians used kohekohe (Eleocharis spp.) to treat puupuu wela (unknown?), ph (abscess, burst sore, ulcer), and aai (spreading sores). The plants were processed by cooking and then used to wash affected areas.EtymologyThe genus name Eleocharis comes from Greek helos, "of the marsh or meadow," and charis, "grace, favor, or loveliness."The specific epithet obtusa is from the Latin obtuse or blunt in reference to the blunt seed head of this species.NPH00001nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Eleocharis_obtusa
Kaluh or Rock bulrush[syn. Schoenoplectus juncoides]Cyperaceae (Cyperus family)Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands (Kauai; Kohala Mountains, Hawaii Island)Oahu (Cultivated)EtymologyThe generic name Schoenoplectiella is from the Greek schoinos, rush, and plektos, plaited or twisted. The suffix -iella denotes small or duminutive, perhaps because it resembles a small Schoenoplectus.The specific epithet juncoides, resembling Juncus, a non-native rush in the Juncaceae or Rush family.NPH00004nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Schoenoplectiella_junc...
field image of Carex stricta COMMON TUSSOCK SEDGE at the James Woodworth Prairie Preserve - showing the distinctive tussock, or small mound of dirt, that give this species its common name